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Saturday, 4 August 2012

[●REC]2008 was
a delightful surprise when it was released in the UK. It was a cinematic
example of the little engine that could. Ie it was a small film – in this case
foreign – that arrived with little to no fanfare but delivered to the genre
what the fan thirsts for: horror.
The pronouncement of a sequel came as no surprise. One can argue that a
successful 21st century horror film without a sequel is the result
of irresponsible producers1.

1There is a narrative clause: The Sixth Sense1999 and The Others2001 do not have sequels. To its shame The Woman in Black2012 has a sequel
announced.

[●REC]22010 had the year’s2 best opening weekend for a domestic film in
its native Spain3. It continues the
plot of the original and except for one narrative hiccup it is a satisfactory
compliment to [●REC]. However,
that hiccup was a signpost denoting the limitation of the narrative. The Godfather Part 21974
complimented The Godfather1972 and completed the
story. The Godfather Part 31990 was
excess. When it was announced there would be not only a third but also a fourth
[●REC] film4
surprise was tempered with dismay.

2[●REC]2was released in Spain in 2009. All films on this
blog are referenced by their UK and/or US release date – whichever came first. Thrill
Fiction primarily serves the Anglo/American audience. Thus if a film is not
available in a particular year it is redundant to list it as such. Other
websites list the year of production (eg IMDB) or year of world premiere (eg
Bonjour Tristesse).

A
film series usually concludes at three (the Star
Wars trilogies, Christopher Nolan’s Dark
Knight5, George A Romero’s the Dead trilogy). Those that don’t (the
good) are usually based on source material ( James Bond, Harry Potter).
There is the bad (Friday the 13th,
Halloween, Hellraiser). There is the ugly (Saw,
Underworld, Pumpkinhead). To announce a fourth film before the filming of the
third is presumptuous to the point of arrogance. Director Robert Zemekis simultaneously
filmed Back to the Future 21989 and
31990. He
got away with it because both films were good. The Wachowskis simultaneously
shot The Matrix Reload2003 and
The Matrix Revolutions2003.
Their careers have been in freefall ever since.

The world is fascinated by twins. There is also
an industry fascination with director pairings. Media always wants to know who
does what6. The Coen brothers
directed No Country For Old Men2007.
The Hughes (twin) Brothers directed The
Book of Eli2010. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
and Marc Caro directed The
City of Lost Children1995. Left to his own
devices Jeunet directed Alien:
Resurrection1997 and destroyed a
franchise.

[●REC]and [●REC]2were
written and directed by Jamue Balagueró and Paco Plaza. When the two sequelswere
announced it was gushed that the pairing would split: each director would helm their own unique vision to bring the
franchise to a close4. Left to his
own devices Plaza directed [●REC]3 Genesis.

Despite
the subtitle (and previous press release4)
[●REC]3 is neither prequel nor
origin story. The biblical reference is a bludgeon of a plot point. It is a cheat.
Such is the tenor of the whole film. Plaza shares screenplay credit with one
Luiso Beredejo. The two of them have plotted a story with more holes than
President Clinton’s impeachment deposition7.

The [●REC] franchise is hitherto
famous for its unrelenting fast zombies. [●REC]3 has
fast and inexplicable slow zombies. Logic be damned; the film can brag of being the first to have both subspecies. It
can boast of having an amputation that’s treated like a paper cut. Everyone who
has ever watched a Straight-to-DVD or Syfy Original is familiar with the ‘victim’s
final testimony’: the neck drops and
the eyes close and either the actor is playing dead or has ran out of lines. In
a TV series said testimony may be valuable information. In [●REC]3
it is neither valuable nor informative. This film is evidence
that Jamue Balagueró wrote [●REC] and [●REC]2
on his own.

Leticia Dolera [REC]3 and Manuela Velasco [REC]

The Americans created the movie star because
they understood at the beginning of the industry that the masses flock to see
beauty and charisma. This paradigm has worked so much so that their political establishment
uses it to select Presidents. The lead and love interest in [●REC]3
lack (beauty and) charisma. This film lacks Manuela
Velasco.

There is a moment of innovation in [●REC]3. It
recalls the device used in Stanley Kramer’s Judgement
at Nuremberg1961 to transcend from
subtitles to spoken English.[●REC]3
begins as found footage in continuation of the previous
films. Plaza uses a deft transition to turn the film into the traditional single
camera setup.

When
an artist has too much latitude his name is M. Night Shyamalan. [●REC]3
is the excess of bloated success. Paco Plaza has thrown
away the rules of common sense storytelling and revealed himself to be a fanboy.
Jerry Bruckheimer separated from Don Simpson before the latter’s death. Jamue Balagueró
has one shot to return the [●REC] franchise to the horror it
once was. He can use [●REC]4 Apocalypseto permanently
separate himself and become Beyoncé to Plaza’s Kelly Rowland.

[●REC]2008 was
a delightful surprise when it was released in the UK. It was a cinematic
example of the little engine that could. Ie it was a small film – in this case
foreign – that arrived with little to no fanfare but delivered to the genre
what the fan thirsts for: horror.
The pronouncement of a sequel came as no surprise. One can argue that a
successful 21st century horror film without a sequel is the result
of irresponsible producers1.

1There is a narrative clause: The Sixth Sense1999 and The Others2001 do not have sequels. To its shame The Woman in Black2012 has a sequel
announced.

[●REC]22010 had the year’s2 best opening weekend for a domestic film in
its native Spain3. It continues the
plot of the original and except for one narrative hiccup it is a satisfactory
compliment to [●REC]. However,
that hiccup was a signpost denoting the limitation of the narrative. The Godfather Part 21974
complimented The Godfather1972 and completed the
story. The Godfather Part 31990 was
excess. When it was announced there would be not only a third but also a fourth
[●REC] film4
surprise was tempered with dismay.

2[●REC]2was released in Spain in 2009. All films on this
blog are referenced by their UK and/or US release date – whichever came first. Thrill
Fiction primarily serves the Anglo/American audience. Thus if a film is not
available in a particular year it is redundant to list it as such. Other
websites list the year of production (eg IMDB) or year of world premiere (eg
Bonjour Tristesse).

A
film series usually concludes at three (the Star
Wars trilogies, Christopher Nolan’s Dark
Knight5, George A Romero’s the Dead trilogy). Those that don’t (the
good) are usually based on source material ( James Bond, Harry Potter).
There is the bad (Friday the 13th,
Halloween, Hellraiser). There is the ugly (Saw,
Underworld, Pumpkinhead). To announce a fourth film before the filming of the
third is presumptuous to the point of arrogance. Director Robert Zemekis simultaneously
filmed Back to the Future 21989 and
31990. He
got away with it because both films were good. The Wachowskis simultaneously
shot The Matrix Reload2003 and
The Matrix Revolutions2003.
Their careers have been in freefall ever since.

The world is fascinated by twins. There is also
an industry fascination with director pairings. Media always wants to know who
does what6. The Coen brothers
directed No Country For Old Men2007.
The Hughes (twin) Brothers directed The
Book of Eli2010. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
and Marc Caro directed The
City of Lost Children1995. Left to his own
devices Jeunet directed Alien:
Resurrection1997 and destroyed a
franchise.

[●REC]and [●REC]2were
written and directed by Jamue Balagueró and Paco Plaza. When the two sequelswere
announced it was gushed that the pairing would split: each director would helm their own unique vision to bring the
franchise to a close4. Left to his
own devices Plaza directed [●REC]3 Genesis.

Despite
the subtitle (and previous press release4)
[●REC]3 is neither prequel nor
origin story. The biblical reference is a bludgeon of a plot point. It is a cheat.
Such is the tenor of the whole film. Plaza shares screenplay credit with one
Luiso Beredejo. The two of them have plotted a story with more holes than
President Clinton’s impeachment deposition7.

The [●REC] franchise is hitherto
famous for its unrelenting fast zombies. [●REC]3 has
fast and inexplicable slow zombies. Logic be damned; the film can brag of being the first to have both subspecies. It
can boast of having an amputation that’s treated like a paper cut. Everyone who
has ever watched a Straight-to-DVD or Syfy Original is familiar with the ‘victim’s
final testimony’: the neck drops and
the eyes close and either the actor is playing dead or has ran out of lines. In
a TV series said testimony may be valuable information. In [●REC]3
it is neither valuable nor informative. This film is evidence
that Jamue Balagueró wrote [●REC] and [●REC]2
on his own.

Leticia Dolera [REC]3 and Manuela Velasco [REC]

The Americans created the movie star because
they understood at the beginning of the industry that the masses flock to see
beauty and charisma. This paradigm has worked so much so that their political establishment
uses it to select Presidents. The lead and love interest in [●REC]3
lack (beauty and) charisma. This film lacks Manuela
Velasco.

There is a moment of innovation in [●REC]3. It
recalls the device used in Stanley Kramer’s Judgement
at Nuremberg1961 to transcend from
subtitles to spoken English.[●REC]3
begins as found footage in continuation of the previous
films. Plaza uses a deft transition to turn the film into the traditional single
camera setup.

When
an artist has too much latitude his name is M. Night Shyamalan. [●REC]3
is the excess of bloated success. Paco Plaza has thrown
away the rules of common sense storytelling and revealed himself to be a fanboy.
Jerry Bruckheimer separated from Don Simpson before the latter’s death. Jamue Balagueró
has one shot to return the [●REC] franchise to the horror it
once was. He can use [●REC]4 Apocalypseto permanently
separate himself and become Beyoncé to Plaza’s Kelly Rowland.